Methods are apparatuses are described for identifying a target object using optical occlusion. A head-mounted display perceives a characteristic of a reference object. The head-mounted display detects a change of the perceived characteristic of the reference object and makes a determination that a detected object caused the change of the perceived characteristic. In response to making the determination, the head-mounted display identifies the detected object as the target object.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A computer-implemented method for identifying a target object, the method comprising: perceiving a characteristic of a reference object; detecting a change to the perceived characteristic of the reference object, wherein the change that has persisted for a minimum threshold of time; making a determination, by a computing device, that a detected object caused the change to the perceived characteristic; and identifying the detected object as the target object.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the computing device comprises a head-mounted display.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein perceiving the characteristic of the reference object comprises receiving one or more images from a camera.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the characteristic is one of a shape, a color, a size, an area, and a location.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the reference object is a body part selected from the group consisting of an arm, a hand, a finger, a leg, a foot, and a toe.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying the detected object as the target object comprises (i) presenting a prompt via a user interface of the computing device requesting a confirmation that the detected object is the target object, and (ii) receiving the confirmation via the user interface of the computing device.
7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: presenting a prompt via a user interface of the computing device requesting a selection of an object to use as the reference object; receiving a selected object via the user interface of the computing device; and using the selected object as the reference object.
8. A computer-implemented method for identifying a target object, the method comprising: perceiving a characteristic of a detected object; detecting a change to the perceived characteristic of the detected object, wherein the change that has persisted for a minimum threshold of time; making a determination, by a computing device, that a reference object caused the change of the perceived characteristic; and identifying the detected object as a target object.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the computing device comprises a head-mountable device.
10. The method of claim 8 , wherein perceiving the characteristic of the detected object comprises receiving one or more images from a camera.
11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the characteristic is one of a shape, a color, a size, an area, and a location.
12. The method of claim 8 , wherein the reference object is a body part selected from the group consisting of an arm, a hand, a finger, a leg, a foot, and a toe.
13. The method of claim 8 , wherein identifying the detected object as the target object comprises: presenting a prompt via a user interface of the computing device requesting a confirmation that the detected object is the target object; and receiving the confirmation via the user interface of the computing device.
14. The method of claim 8 , further comprising: presenting a prompt via a user interface of the computing device requesting a selection of an object to use as the reference object; receiving a selected object via the user interface of the computing device; and using the selected object as the reference object.
15. A system, comprising: at least one processor; and data storage comprising program instructions executable by the at least one processor to cause the at least one processor to perform functions comprising: perceiving a characteristic of a reference object; detecting a change to the perceived characteristic of the reference object, wherein the change that has persisted for a minimum threshold of time; making a determination that a detected object caused the change to the perceived characteristic; and identifying the detected object as the target object.
16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the at least one processor comprises at least one processer of a head-mountable device.
17. The system of claim 15 , further comprising a camera; and wherein perceiving the characteristic of the reference object comprises receiving one or more photos from the camera.
18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored therein instructions, that when executed by a computing system, cause the computing system to perform functions comprising: perceiving a characteristic of a reference object; detecting a change to the perceived characteristic of the reference object, wherein the change that has persisted for a minimum threshold of time; making a determination that a detected object caused the change to the perceived characteristic; and identifying the detected object as the target object.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
June 11, 2012
May 13, 2014
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